Jacqualyn   aka “starvingincanada”

Hello, my name is Jacqualyn I am a person with a disability trying to survive & advocate change in Canada, for people with disabilities. through the written word emails, blogging, facebook twitter etc. just trying to make people & the political candidates aware of how bad it is…how impossible it is to survive if you are forced to be a recipient of ODSP. I will also be working on some fairly high impact art, posters & cartoons.
Below is an email that I have sent out to the candidates & attached is a cartoon.

To: PC, Liberal, NDP
From what I understand (in a very basic format) your mandate is to promote & help the average Canadian family (or person).
Here are some Canadian FACTS: According to Stats Canada the annual income of a single person on ODSP is $7,500 below the poverty line, ODSP benefits for a single parent with one child under 13are $1,424/month. The last time disability benefits were raised in Ontario was in 1993. The cost of living since 1993 has increased approximately 18% in 2002 (& at least 20% in 2011). Also consider that the average rent for a very humble bachelor apartment is over $1042/month in Toronto. The monthly total of ODSP income benefit for a single person is $930/month. Which obviously leaves disabled Canadians Homeless & Starving in Canada!
The vast number of disabled people (including children of disabled persons)are people who already face physical pain, impairment & extreme adversity and they are STARVING, HOMELESS & OR LIVING IN SUCH EXTREME POVERTY that they are unable to substantiate even the most basic requirements of surviving in Canada.
As one of the disabled that is “STARVING IN CANADA”, I would think I was living like a king if I was able to work & receive the minimum wage. You seem to fight & promote the “working man”, but what is your position on the Canadians who fight their very survival everyday with disabling conditions such as: Cancer, MS, Stroke, spinal injury, physical or mental impairment….what about US? No-one wants to address these issues, I know it is not a very popular platform because people really don’t want to think about us, but it is a FACT of life for some of us in Canada and some of us may be your Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers or CHILDREN, we are also VOTERS!
You can look for my comments & artwork (just look for “Starving in Canada”) plastered on facebook & every social media site I can find as well as the fact that I will be sending copies of this note to: Canada AM, the Toronto star…etc. Although I doubt I will receive a reply from any of you, I will eagerly await a response.

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Words can travel across thousands of miles.

May my words create mutual understanding and love.

May they be as beautiful as gems, as lovely as flowers.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

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